Orlando
by easyqueenie
Summary: Mulder & Scully find themselves in Orlando following the events of Agua Mala, but Mulder is up to something.  Bit of a continuation to "The Email."
1. Chapter 1

This is kind of a follow up to The Email but you don't need to have read that to follow this. There'll be major MSR so if you don't like it, look away now! Teeny tiny spoiler for Agua Mala. Enjoy!

It had been a full 24 hours since the hurricane had passed over the West coast of Florida, leaving behind its wake of destruction. Mulder was on the phone as they left Arthur Dales' house in Goodland, having informed him of the details of their latest case. He hung up as they reached the car.

"Bad news, the local airport's still closed. Lady on the phone reckons they'll be closed up for at least a couple of days, she suggested we head up to Orlando and catch a flight from there instead, they weren't hit so hard. It's only four hours up the I75."

Scully sighed and nodded before climbing into the car. As she looked away, Mulder grinned and sighed a breath of relief. She hadn't called his bluff and checked up on the airport which was actually perfectly operational. He climbed into the driver's seat and they both waved goodbye to Arthur as they headed off towards the freeway.

After an hour's driving, Scully nodded off on the passenger seat. Mulder turned the radio down so as not to wake her. The route was easy and his mind set to wandering. He'd been planning this ever since Charlie's email to Dana several months ago. Arthur's call regarding the sea monster was the perfect cover, even if it had meant putting several plans into super fast forward; and the hurricane "closing down the airport" had given him the perfect excuse to get them in the region. X-Files cases never tended to happen in happy, sunny vacation spots. As he drove on, Mulder looked over at the sleeping redhead beside him and grinned again. He put his free hand in his pocket and felt the object resting safely inside before putting both hands back on the wheel and focusing on the road once more.

_In Orlando, the woman paced her hotel room nervously once more. She opened her case and checked all the equipment the man had given her for the task. It was all still there, neatly laid out as it had been the past few hours. She checked her watch again. Mulder and Scully would be arriving in only a few hours, from that point on she would have to keep undercover until the time came. She rechecked the message the man had sent her. She knew where she had to be, when she had to be there and what she had to do. Exhaling heavily from the nerves, she shook herself off and decided to head outside for a few hours before hiding herself away from any wandering eyes._


	2. Chapter 2

Scully awoke as she felt the car slow to a stop. Opening her eyes, she took in her immediate surroundings, she was still in the rental car they had set off in and Mulder was leaning out of the driver's side window talking to a man in a booth. Looking out, she noted that they were stopped on a small road that was curving around into what looked like a forest of trees. She racked her brain trying to remember what her last memories were and remembered that she was in Florida, supposedly heading for Orlando airport. Last she could recall, Florida wasn't noted for forests and small shacks at the side of the road that had, now she came to take a closer look, a distinctly African vibe to them. As her suspicions increased, Mulder leant back inside the car, now holding a brightly coloured piece of laminated paper which he shoved into the storage space on the door. She briefly caught sight of the man Mulder had been talking to, her was dressed in khakis and had a radio and ID badge – clearly he was security. Mulder began to drive on ahead once again.

"Mulder?" she began. He jumped and turned to look at her.

"Hey sleepy head, how are you?" he asked, a slightly nervous expression flashing across his face before he turned back to the road.

"I'm fine, Mulder where are we, what did that man just give you, how long have I been asleep? This doesn't look like the right way to the airport."

"Always with the questions" Mulder replied, clearly avoiding her eyes now. "Everything's fine, that thing is just a parking permit."

"Why do we need a parking permit?" Scully badgered. "Why are we parking somewhere for that long?"

"You'll see" Mulder replied, an irritatingly smug grin now playing on his lips.

"Mulder, I have to be back in DC tonight." Scully began hotly. "I need to get some sleep before work tomorrow, plus I promised my mom I'd call her once I was home from Florida, she was worried about me being so near the storm. And I don't have any more clean clothes."

"Your mom knows exactly where you are, I called her before we set off for Florida" Mulder replied, the grin getting broader. "You're not going to work tomorrow; I went behind your back and booked vacation time for you. And to answer your final complaint, there's an extra case of clothes and toiletries waiting for you at our destination, you mom went to your apartment after you left, packed some stuff up and had it forwarded down here." The grin was now infuriating, "so stop whining and worrying and just relax will you?"

"MULDER!" Scully replied, her lips moving silently to form some retort to his answers but her mind unable to think of any. She had to admit, he'd been thinking ahead. The car wound around the final bend to reveal the entrance to a huge hotel. Valets and porters were bustling around helping guests load and unload their cars and taking them to and from the parking lot. There were lots of small children running around near the doors to the lobby, several were wearing Mickey Mouse ears.

"Mulder…?" Scully began again slowly. "Are we at Disney World?"

"Surprise!" Mulder exclaimed, grinning wider than ever. "You seemed kinda down when you got that email from Charlie, I know you were joking when you suggested coming here but it stuck in my mind. I mentioned it in passing to your mom when we saw her and she told me how you'd always wanted to go when you were little but you'd never managed it what with your dad being away so much. When I told her I was thinking of surprising you she was so happy, told me she'd help plan it all. Arthur's call this week gave me the perfect cover, had to rush things more than I wanted but the storm meant a few people had cancelled their trips so it all worked out."

Scully didn't know what to say, all she could do was give Mulder an uncharacteristic grin in response. He had been planning this with her mom for months? She would have to give her mom an earful when she got home. As her mind tried to organise everything it had been made to take in over the past few minutes, Mulder drew the car up to the valet and got out. As Scully got out of her side, a porter appeared with a dolly and began loading their small cases out of the trunk. Their tiny amount of luggage looked laughable beside the other dollies which were filled to capacity by families with multiple over excited small children. Mulder paid the valet and tipped the porter before pushing their dolly through the doors and into the lobby.

"Hey Scully, you coming?" he called back as Scully realised she was still stood by the car door, gazing up at the enormous frontage to the hotel. She hurried to catch up with him and they headed into the lobby together. Her breath vanished from her as she caught sight of the inside. She was so used to grotty little motels that she had forgotten what a really nice hotel looked like. The African theme continued inside, right down to the music where tribal sounds seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere, just floating in the air. The sounds of laughter and smell of food also permeated the entire room, which was several stories high and covered in dark wood and African sculptures. Mulder pushed their things to a sofa in the middle of the room and told her to wait there whilst he checked them in at the desk. Scully just nodded dumbly, still trying to take in the room. Directly ahead was an enormous wall of glass overlooking more beautiful landscaping, she suspected that's where the pool was. After a few minutes Mulder returned holding a map on which the clerk had drawn a line directing them through the maze of corridors that made up the hotel, and two room keys which looked like credit cards with their names printed on.

"The room's this way" Muder began, he looked a bit sheepish. "I'm really sorry Scully but this place is wildly expensive, I had to stick with a single room for us both. It's a twin though!" he added quickly, trying to cover up. Scully's eyebrows shot up, she knew Mulder had a lot more money than anyone, other than she and the Gunmen knew about, his parents had been incredibly wealthy and he their only beneficiary. She opened her mouth to complain, but closed it again after a second. Who cared if they shared a room, it wasn't like they were on a case?

The corridors twisted and turned as Mulder followed the map to an elevator and hit the button for the top floor. He hummed as they travelled up. Scully knew Mulder only hummed if he was nervous, he was obviously still worried about her reaction to all of this. They arrived at the top floor and Mulder directed them to a door with a large African shield attached to it, as with all the others. He slipped his key card into the lock and the light flashed green, allowing him to open it. They entered and Scully's breath vanished again. She shot to the window, leaving Mulder behind in the doorway smiling wider than ever. There, in full view of the window was a giraffe, busily eating from a tree. As she took in the view, she spotted a few other animals dotted about the savannah which their window overlooked.

"I saw this place on TV" Scully said quietly, not turning away from the window.

"I know", Mulder replied, walking over to her and standing beside her to look out now he had brought in their luggage. "I was with you, remember? You saw it whilst channel hopping at a motel on a case." Scully nodded.

"I said it looked amazing and I wish I could go there someday."

"Yeah, well, here you are" Mulder replied, he was unable to stop smiling. "Does this make up for all the birthdays, Christmases, Easters and other traditional gift giving events I've missed since I've known you?" Scully nodded again.

"I think you're in credit now actually."

"Home run!" Mulder laughed. Scully turned from the window and spotted a case on the bed that Mulder hadn't brought up; it had tags on it which suggested it had made its way to the room by itself.

"They're efficient" Scully remarked, unzipping the case. She checked the contents and was pleasantly surprised by how well her mom knew her. All her favourite clothes were packed and her mom had even managed to find the small box of vacation clothes which had been laying gathering dust in her closet for several years. The only thing she wouldn't have was swimwear, or so she thought until she removed a skirt to find a new bikini, complete with store tags, receipt and a note from her mom.

_"Enjoy your vacation with Fox; I'll want to know all about it when you get home. I hope you like the bikini and it fits, consider it a present ok? I left the receipt with it so you can take it back to the store if you want. Love you Dana, Mom xxx_"

Scully smiled, and looked up at Mulder who was stood beside her, still looking slightly nervous.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked. "We can get some more sleep if you need it or get some lunch or you can head down to the pool and relax if you want?"

"Mulder, are you kidding?" she asked, grinning madly herself now. "We just arrived at Disney World and you think I want to nap? I want to go and see the castle!"

_In her room, not very far away, the woman sat on her bed reading a message. Mulder and Scully had arrived at their hotel on time. She looked at the clock; she only had to lie low for a few more hours. Standing up she began to pace the room again, twisting her hands together. She hoped she would be able to pull off the task the man had asked her to do._


	3. Chapter 3

**Part three!**

**Scully's personality here is taken from the times we see her in giddy, childish mode (the end of The Ghosts Who Stole Christmas and lots of Sunshine Days). Hope you're all enjoying it!**

As Mulder leant against the railing, feeling the last rays of the day's sun beating down on him, he felt lighter than he had in weeks. He smiled inwardly at the thought that only a few hours ago, he had been worrying himself sick over Scully's reaction to his surprise vacation; as it had turned out, all that worrying had been for nothing. He laughed as the teacup Scully was currently spinning around inside came past once again, she was giggling like a small child, her hair whipped across her face making her look less than graceful. Mulder hated spinning rides; they made him feel queasy and so he had sat this one out, choosing instead to watch his partner enjoy herself while he relaxed.

On their arrival at the Magic Kingdom Park several hours previously, Scully's whole persona had changed. As they had rounded the corner, bringing the infamous castle into full view for the first time, she had squealed and almost ran down the street towards it, literally dragging Mulder along behind her as he recovered from the shock. Soon after, she had vanished inside a shop, reappearing with a pair of Mickey Mouse ears on her head. Mulder had fallen about laughing until she had produced a second pair from behind her back and insisted he wear them. It was an unfair fight; she had her big eyes and pouty bottom lip on her side whenever she needed them.

They had spent one of the happiest days he could remember together. They'd watched a parade, sailed with pirates and watched ghosts dance. For lunch, they'd eaten greasy hamburgers and drank Cokes; then almost brought them straight back up by riding rollercoasters and a log flume. Scully had barely stopped smiling. She had allowed the excitement she was honestly feeling to float right to the surface, the years of pent up childhood longing overtaking any sense of decorum learnt in adulthood. She'd bought them both Mickey shaped ice cream sticks and laughed for the camera when Mulder took a photo of her, despite knowing she had chocolate on her face. Mulder had even pulled out his phone camera and taken a picture of them both wearing their silly ears and grinning like school children in front of the castle – sending the photo on to Skinner who had responded with _"Am sending medics immediately, you are both clearly unwell"_ with a smiley face. Scully had been shocked Skinner even knew how to make his phone create a smiley face.

Now, as twilight fell and the Park's lights had begun to switch on, Scully came running from the far side of the teacups ride to find him, still grinning. She flung herself against the railings, laughing

"I'm dizzy!"

"I'm not surprised," Mulder replied, "I feel nauseous and I was only watching you. Do you want to sit down?"

"Yeah, actually do you want to get some dinner, then we can make our way down to Main Street to watch the fireworks later?" Scully suggested, her breathing slowing down. Mulder nodded and they headed off to find some food.

_At the Park's entrance, the woman passed easily through the security checks and looked around. She'd been told where she needed to be; only a few hours remained before she would need to be in position. The man had been in contact again, Mulder and Scully were heading towards Tomorrowland to eat; she would be safe if she didn't stray far from the Main Street shops. The smell of cookies from the bakery enticed her and she headed inside and vanished into the crowd._

As Mulder and Scully sat of the formica chairs, eating their dinner of more fast food, Scully found herself looking around and trying to imagine a scene quite different from the one she was currently experiencing. The distance on her face must have attracted Mulder's attention because he brushed his thumb on her hand to bring her back to reality.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she laughed "I was just thinking, you came here as a child didn't you?"

"Yeah" Mulder replied, smiling at the memories, "it opened a couple of weeks before my 10th birthday, my parents surprised me by bringing me and Samantha. We were the envy of our schools! We came again the following summer, then again a few weeks before…" he stumbled over the last words but Scully knew what they were anyway. "We never came again. I don't think my parents could take it, so many memories locked up in this one place. I came once during my time at Oxford, brought some buddies from England who'd never been to the States to experience spring break. It was different though, drinking and lying on the beach chatting about girls more than riding rollercoasters. This is my first time back at the parks really since I was 12." Scully smiled sadly, it was her time to take his hands.

"I hope you're not regretting coming back here, it must be quite hard, stirring up all those old memories."

"Scully, you've given me the best day I could have hoped for." Mulder laughed, grinning at her wildly. "I could never have dreamed that you'd be this happy to be here."

"I don't think you realise how much I've wanted to come here" she replied. "It was a childhood fantasy. Me, Missy and Charlie would sit glued to the TV watching any shows that would show us the parks, not Bill of course, he wasn't interested like us. We watched all the Disney movies, knew the songs, but we never got to come. We just moved about so often, dad was home so rarely when we were young and mom couldn't manage taking four of us on vacation by herself. The years just passed by and eventually we realised we'd never be going to Disney. I thought about coming here on spring break too, but I wanted to focus on grades, to please my parents you know?"

"Shame" Mulder interrupted, "Our paths may have crossed on that spring break, our eyes met across a crowded beach, me in my sexy red speedos, you in a non existent bikini…" He grinned as Scully shot him one of her characteristic looks but failed to hold it and returned the grin.

"I have never owned a non existent bikini Mulder" she retorted, "and there is no such thing as a sexy red speedo."

"There is once it has me in it" Mulder whispered, putting on what he believed to be his sexiest voice. Scully just giggled madly. While she composed herself, Mulder checked his watch. "We'd better get going" he announced "we want a good spot for the fireworks yeah?"

"Oooh yes!" Scully replied, standing up so quickly she had to hold onto the table as a head rush hit her. Mulder stood up too and together they headed out of the doors and down towards Main Street.

_The woman had taken her position on the balcony of Main Street station, overlooking the whole of Main Street. Her bag was by her feet, containing the equipment the man had given her packed safely away. She shifted her weight around, keeping close watch on the street below for any hint of the Agents she was there to find. Eventually she spotted them, Mulder had led Scully to a spot near some railings and they were stood facing the castle, their backs to the station. Her position couldn't have been more perfect, the man's instructions had been exactly right as usual. She checked her watch; the fireworks would start in 15 minutes, causing the lights to dim. She reached into the bag and began putting the equipment together carefully, following the instructions she had memorised. She knew that pulling it out would create a lot of attention so she had practised in the hotel room so it wouldn't need to leave the bag before the lights went down. When the last part clicked into place, she crouched down and checked the gap between the railings; it was plenty wide enough to see the Agents through. She sat on the floor with the bag on her lap and waited for the lights to go down._


	4. Chapter 4

**Just a short chapter to keep you all waiting!**

At precisely two minutes past eight, the lights in the Magic Kingdom suddenly dimmed. A low "oooh" murmured its way through the air above the assembled crowds before being immediately drowned out by the night's first firework launching into the sky.

As the enormously complex display continued, down on Main Street, Mulder and Scully stood watching the display, oohing and aahhing at all the right moments. Scully's attention was totally focused on the fireworks, a fact that Mulder was considerably grateful for as he fidgeted constantly, his right hand constantly checking on the contents of his pocket as he looked around nervously.

_Above them, on the balcony of Main Street station, the woman was crouched, watching the agents from between the railings; she could see Mulder fidgeting below. She reached into the bag between her feet and pulled out the equipment the man had given her. Carefully, she placed it on the balcony, aiming between the railings towards the agents. No one around her noticed anything was happening at all._

Thanks to Charlie's video camera, Mulder had memorised this fireworks display down to the last bang. He knew the end was coming soon and his confidence needed to be strong now; curse the "no alcohol in the Magic Kingdom" rule, a bit of Dutch courage would have been very helpful. He mouthed silently along with the final piece of Jiminy Cricket's dialogue blasting out of the tannoys and waited. Within a second an enormous volley of fireworks, the finale of the night's show shot up into the sky, lighting up the entire park like broad daylight. Mulder swallowed hard, grabbed the object in his pocket firmly, flipped it open and dropped to one knee beside Scully.

_Up on the balcony, the woman saw the finale launch only from the corner of her eye as she watched Mulder's every move. She saw him tense and as he began to drop, she double checked her aim and took the first shot._


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the delay in getting this up. A sick child does not a happy fan-fiction writer make! Hope it's worth the wait. This is complete now but I'm thinking about a sequel?**

Scully giggled like a child as the volley of fireworks almost deafened her. As the light faded, she turned to smile at Mulder, but found herself giving a goofy grin to a total stranger. She looked around quickly, and then looked down to see Mulder staring up at her from waist level, an incredibly nervous look on his face and a ring sat in a box in his hand. She stared, open-mouthed for what felt like forever, her mouth getting dry, as the crowds around them began to stir and head towards the park exit. A few people saw what was happening and nudged one another to watch. Eventually, Scully remembered that words existed.

"Mulder…?"

"Scully, will you marry me?"

Scully looked around, noticing that she was being watched by well over a dozen grinning faces. She felt the blush rise into her cheeks; all words had flown from her head again. Mulder was proposing to her. Actually proposing, with a real ring and everything, she didn't know what to think. Her brain started racing at a thousand words a second. She needed to give an answer, a quick one too, people were staring.

"Mulder's proposing!" a voice kept yelling at her inside her head, "This is what you've been daydreaming of for years!"

"But he's not in love with you," another voice retorted "Why is he doing this? What is he up to? Is he undercover again, working for another agenda?"

"What kind of secret government agenda would involve Mulder faking a marriage proposal in the middle of the Magic Kingdom?" the first voice yelled back.

"Shut up!" Scully shouted at the voices in her head, making sure not to speak out loud. She looked at Mulder with the most enormous smile she could ever remember crossing her face.

"Yes!" she squeaked, as tears began to roll down her cheeks "I don't know why you're even asking me but yes!" Mulder took a deep breath and leant forward to put the ring on her finger as the small crowd that had gathered around them whooped and cheered. He stood up and the pair of them kissed then hugged each other tightly. Scully rested her head on his chest. "Why Mulder?" she asked him quietly. "I didn't think, I mean, I didn't know."

"You thought it was just sex between partners?" Mulder asked, unable to keep the trace of hurt out of his voice. "You didn't think it meant more than that to me?"

"No I, I thought you loved me, cared for me, like a best friend, I didn't realise you wanted this" she told him honestly, staring at the ring on her finger.

"You didn't want it too?"

"Yes, of course I did, I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't mean it. I just never would have dreamed you did too." Mulder didn't reply, instead he pulled her in tighter to the hug. They stood there for a couple of minutes, Scully staring at her ring, until a thought took her. "Mulder?"

"Hmmm?"

"This ring is a perfect fit."

"I'm glad."

"How did you know my ring size?"

"I guessed."

"No way Mulder, I'm not buying it. How did you know?"

Mulder shifted slightly, looking over Scully's shoulder. He caught sight of something and grinned before looking down at her again.

"I need to admit something to you Scully" he told her, looking sheepish. She pulled away from the hug and eyed him suspiciously.

"What?"

"I didn't arrange this all by myself."

"I know, you already told me my mom helped you out."

"Yes, but what I didn't tell you is that your mom knew about this bit too, that I was going to propose. She helped me pick out the ring last weekend, because she knows your taste in jewellery better than me." It was like a light switch had been flicked in Scully's head.

"That's why she asked me to stay over! She told me she'd been watching QVC and wanted to order a ring but she needed her size checking, so I helped her do it, then she started winding me up about what size I'd need for my wedding ring, got me laughing and measured mine too, I remember mine was an I."

"Yeah, tiny little fingers, had to get your ring ordered in specially, they don't keep them in stock that small!" Mulder taunted her, and then he smiled. "I've got another surprise for you Scully."

"Mulder! What now?"

"Turn around."

"What?"

"Turn around Scully." Scully furrowed her brow at him but then turned to look behind her. Stood a little way back from them, watching them through the thinning crowd was a small, red headed woman. She was holding an oversized rucksack in her hand and had tears flowing down her cheeks. As she and Scully made eye contact, the woman burst into tears as a huge grin split her face. Scully's brain caught up with her eyes a few seconds later.

"Mom…? MOM!" She ran towards her mother and flung herself into a hug, Mulder following close behind her. "How long have you been here Mom? Did you see?"

"I saw Dana, don't worry, I saw everything. I've been here a few hours now; Fox has been keeping me up-to-date with where you guys were." Maggie Scully pulled out her phone and waved it in front of her daughter who shot a glare at Mulder. "He told me where he planned to propose and where a good vantage spot would be, I was watching the whole thing from the balcony up there" she continued, waving the phone in the direction of the train station balcony. Scully was still in shock, grinning from ear to ear.

"Mom, why do you have such a huge bag? Did you bring a change of clothes for each of us or something?"

"No Dana!" her mother laughed, putting the bag down and opening it. "Fox gave me this when we went ring shopping." Maggie pulled out a digital SLR camera with an enormous zoom lens attached to it. "I was up on the balcony with it, taking photos of you as Fox proposed." Scully started to cry again.

"Can I see?" She asked, and her mother handed her the camera. Scully switched it on and began to flick through the pictures. Her mom had obviously just kept clicking constantly, there were over 100 shots.

"Hopefully there'll be at least a few good ones." Maggie said, looking at the pictures with them. "Oh Dana I'm so happy for you! You have no idea how hard it's been keeping my mouth shut about all this. I can't wait to tell Charlie and Bill."

"Oh yeah, I bet Bill will be thrilled" Scully muttered, "He'll probably insist on sending me off to have my head checked for massive trauma."

"I'll handle Bill" Maggie said firmly, "he won't dare argue with me and I happen to adore Fox." Scully looked at Mulder and noticed he was blushing slightly at her mother's confession.

"We'd better get moving" Mulder said eventually, breaking the silence, "We're almost the last people in here."

"Where are you staying Mom?" Scully asked as they made their way through the park's exit.

"Same hotel as you two Dana, the next building down" she replied. "I'm flying home late tomorrow though. I wanted to spend a bit of time with you two but I know you'll want to be left to your own devices for the rest of this trip."

"We'll come over as soon as we're home" Scully told her mom, "we'll bring lots of photos."

"You better believe you'll be coming over once you're home young lady" Maggie replied, "I've got a wedding to start planning!" Scully wanted to say something but the excitement in her mother's face stopped her and she just smiled and started to giggle again.

"OK Mom, but no big frilly dresses ok? I did copious taffeta at prom and it didn't agree with me."

Scully and her mom laughed all the way back to their hotel, remembering old dresses Scully had worn to dances and family occasions. Once they arrived, they continued chatting to each other again in the lobby whilst Mulder checked something out at the concierge desk. Eventually Maggie waved them goodbye and Mulder began leading them back to their room.

"Mulder, this isn't the way to our room." Scully told him, "We took a left here, not a right."

"Trust me Scully, I know where I'm going." he said as she followed him to a lift and they headed up to the top floor.

"Mulder, seriously, this is the wrong way," she pestered, as Mulder studiously ignored her and led her down a hallway to another door. He inserted the key card and the light clicked to green. He looked up at her and smirked. Scully huffed and pushed past him into the room. She stopped dead. It was a different room. Their cases had been moved here and left on the large comfy couch. Instead of two single beds, this room had one enormous four-poster instead, and it had been covered in rose petals. On the bedside table nearest the door stood an ice bucket, complete with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. A few balloons had been tied to the bed posts, each of them had "Congratulations" printed on it. Mulder followed Scully into the room and stood beside her.

"Mulder…" Scully began but Mulder cut her off.

"Huh?" he said, trying to sound confused, "I swore this room had two single beds when we left, must be that Disney magic again."


End file.
